


What Might Have Been

by RosebudSpring876



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Alternate Universe, David Rose is a Good Person, Falling In Love, First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29397501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosebudSpring876/pseuds/RosebudSpring876
Summary: AU where The Roses never lost it all, and Patrick never went to business school - in fact, he never left his home town and still has the same job he started in his teens. Rose Video.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

_Back again_.

Patrick shoved his bag into his locker and turned to look at himself in the staffroom mirror. God, he hated this job. Sighing, he grabbed his “Rose Video” polo shirt from it’s hook and tugged it on over his t-shirt. Pinning on his name-tag he made his way out onto the shop floor.

“Hey, Bill.”

The manager looked up. “Morning, Patrick. Good night last night?”

“Same as every other night.”

“Ok. Well, just a heads up we’ve got one of the higher ups coming by for a store inspection today so be on your best behaviour.”

Patrick stared, horrified. “What? I thought they give us a week’s notice?”

“Apparently they did, I don’t know. Just be professional, answer his questions, blah blah blah. It’ll be fine, you know how these things go. Just some bored management peon ticking boxes.”

Patrick sighed, frustrated. “Yeah. Sure, Bill. Where do you want me?”

Bill patted a full box on the register next to him. “If you could restock the shelves over in section D, and then man the register that’d be great.”

“Of course.” Patrick grabbed the box and headed over to restock.

It was afternoon before the guy from head office actually showed up. He cast a contemptuous glance at the shelves before walking up to the register.

“Hi, can I help you?” Patrick asked. The man gave a fake smile.

“Hi, David Rose, are you a manager?”

David Rose? _The_ David Rose? Not some management peon, then. “Uh, no, I’m not.”

“Mmmmkay, can you get him please? I don’t want to stay for long.”

Patrick gritted his teeth. “I’m sure I can help you with anything you need, Mr Rose.”

David looked him up and down. “Hmm. I’m not.”

“I see. Fine.” Patrick grabbed the phone, dialling Bill’s office line. It rang through. The whole time, David was looking around like he was worried he might catch some sort of disease just from being here and Patrick couldn’t help feeling offended. The place was clean. He’d cleaned it himself. Perhaps if David Rose would actually remove his sunglasses indoors like a normal person he’d be able to see properly. God, the man was awful. Giving up, he replaced the receiver.

“Well?”

“He’s not answering, but I’d be happy to direct you to his office. Um, if you head to the back then it’s through the double doors and to the left.”

“Great.”

“Is there anything else I can-”

David waved a dismissive hand as he walked away. “I’m done here, you go do…whatever it is you do here. Clean or…whatever.”

“Wow, is it necessary to be _quite_ such a dick?”

The words were out of his mouth before he realised. David froze, then turned slowly back towards him looking scandalised and stalked back over.

“Ex _cuse_ you?” he did some sort of flourish with his hand that made Patrick go cross-eyed for a second.

_Apologise, Patrick. You need to apologise. Now._ “Mr Rose, I-”

“You don’t talk to me that way.” David continued, talking over him with an expression on his face that looked like he’d trodden in something disgusting. Something inside Patrick snapped.

“No. You know what? I know you’re my employer - actually, scratch that, because you’re _not_ my employer, your my employer’s son which means you actually have _no_ authority over me in this business, you have _no_ right to speak to ME that way, and I don’t get paid anywhere near enough to put up with this bullshit.” In one smooth motion (which he was secretly rather proud of) he pulled his Rose Video polo shirt off over his head and flung it at David Rose’s feet. The other man stared down at it and back at him, gaping like a startled fish. “I quit.” Patrick spat out and stalked off towards the staff room. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest he thought it might burst out.

“Oh fuck. Oh fuck.” he leant his head against the mirror, breathing hard. What had he done? He needed this job. He had rent, he had bills, he had… “Fuck fuck fuck.” he should go out and apologise again, say he didn’t mean it, grovel on his knees if he had to. But he didn’t _want_ to. He was worth more than that. Grabbing his bag and jacket and fighting against the feeling that he was making the biggest mistake of his life, Patrick walked out and headed to his car.

He drove home on autopilot. When he was finally back in his apartment he didn’t know what to do. He sat down on his couch and gazed blankly at the wall. He was going to have to call his parents, they could probably loan him some money until he found another job…oh God, what if he had to move back home??

Ok, he needed to not think about this for a while. Patrick went to the fridge and pulled it open, grabbing a beer. He pulled out his cell and dialled a local pizza place, ordering his usual. He definitely couldn’t afford pizza any more but, fuck it, one more night of pretending things were fine. He got in the shower and tried to wash away the day, turning the heat up until the water made his skin sting. Then he got out, changed into workout clothes, and slumped in front of the TV.

He was totally fucked. He was an idiot. He was-

The buzzer went off, shocking Patrick out of his thoughts. “That was quick.” he muttered to himself. He picked up the receiver, buzzing the delivery guy in. “Come on up.” he hurried into his bedroom to grab his wallet, tugging notes out as he pulled open the door…and stopped dead. “Hi.” he said stupidly. David Rose smiled awkwardly.

“Hi.”

“You…don’t have pizza.”

David blinked. “You are…very observant and oddly specific.” he said, a confused smile on his face. Patrick blinked back to reality.

“Sorry, I was expecting a pizza delivery. I didn’t realise you were…why are you here?”

“Can I at least come inside?”

“No.”

David rolled his eyes. “Fine. I…uh…I apologise? For what I said?”

“Is that a question?”

“Do you accept the apology or not?”

Patrick laughed disbelievingly. “I’m not sure I’ve been given one!”

David gritted his teeth. “Ugh. Ok. I’m…sorry. I was having a tragically awful day and I may have been…rude. Please don’t quit.”

“Little late for that. I left halfway through my shift.”

“I told Bill you had a family emergency and okayed it with me to leave.” David pulled a face halfway between a smile and a grimace. Patrick gaped at him.

“Why. Uh. Why would you do that?”

“Because I was being an ass. And you shouldn’t lose your job because I was having a shitty day and being an even shittier person.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, um…I want to say Peter…?”

David seemed to have a habit of talking using his whole body. Every sentence seemed to be accompanied by some sort of facial expression, or flourish, or flail. It was oddly endearing. Patrick smiled. “Patrick.”

“Patrick.” David repeated, smiling. “Well it is nice to meet you Patrick. Oh, and you will be getting paid for the whole shift, I thought it was the least I could do.”

“Wow, um…I mean, do you want to come in? There’s pizza on the way.”

David smiled ruefully. “Sorry. I can’t actually stay. But I’m glad we talked and I’m very glad you’re not leaving…leaving the business. So.”

“So.”

“Ok. Bye.” David turned and walked back down the stairs. Patrick watched him go for a second then retreated back into his apartment. He laughed disbelievingly into the silence.

“Wow.”

Maybe David Rose wasn’t so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

When he walked into Rose Video the next day, he wasn’t sure what he’d be faced with. Bill glared at him. “In future, you talk to me if you need to leave ok? Luckily for you I was able to get Shelley in to cover or I would be so pissed right now. I know his family owns the company, but he is not your boss. I am.”

“I. I know. Look, I am really sorry about that, Bill. It was a whole thing, and…I left pretty fast, and-”

“Well make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Of course, of course.” Patrick cleared his throat. “Did we pass the inspection, at least?”

Bill slumped against the counter and sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine. He was very quiet and, well, I mean it’s _David Rose_. Him being quiet probably isn’t a good sign.”

“Or it just meant he had nothing to criticise?”

“We’ll have to wait and see.” Bill looked doubtful “Anyway.” he clapped his hands together, “Another day dawns. Let’s get to work.”

Patrick walked away, heart pounding. He didn’t think David had been _lying_ , but he’d still half expected to be fired the second he came in. He spent his whole shift waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for Bill to call him into the office. But nothing happened. He clocked out and walked back to his car hardly able to believe it.

He’d been lucky.

* * *

About a month later, and nothing had changed. Bill had given him the cold shoulder for a shift or two but now it was as if the whole thing had never happened. Patrick might have forgotten it did ever happen if not for the fact that Bill seemed to be on edge, and it didn’t take much prodding to find out it was because they still hadn’t had the results of their inspection.

“It normally only takes a few days. A week at most.” Bill worried. “I’ve heard rumours…”

“What sort of rumours?”

“Johnny Rose wants to take on Interflix. Get a piece of the online streaming market. He could be shutting stores-”

“Let’s not worry about that yet, ok? For all we know no news is good news. They could have just forgotten to get in contact.”

“Right. Yeah. I’ll be in my office.”

“Sure, Bill.”

Patrick fiddled with his collar nervously. What if they _did_ shut them down? Would he get any sort of severance package? Transferred to another location? If worst came to worst he could always-

“Patrick?”

Patrick looked up, surprised and embarrassed to have been caught lost in his thoughts. “Mr Rose!”

“David. Please.” David shifted uncomfortably. He was wearing what looked like a poncho - it looked utterly ridiculous and Patrick would have put money on it costing more than a month’s rent.

“Uh…”

“Is…the other guy around? The manager?”

“In his office.”

“Right. Um. So, how are you? The store, I mean.This…this store.”

“Great.” Patrick licked his lips. “Are you shutting us down?”

“What? No. Why would you…?”

“I’ve heard something about a step into online streaming.”

“Oh. Well, I mean…nothing official. But…no. No, dad insists we still need brick and mortar locations for some reason. If it were up to me I think it’s pointless.”

“Well as someone who’s pay-check relies on one of those brick and mortar locations I’m glad it’s not up to you.”

David winced. “Right. Sorry. Um…I should go and see…?”

“Bill.”

“Right. Bill.” With another strange smile, David walked away. Patrick swallowed, feeling strangely flustered. He found himself eyeing the door that lead to the manager’s office, hoping to catch a glimpse of David leaving.

“Why?” he muttered to himself, focusing back on the inventory he was trying to get done. It was about ten minutes later that he looked up just in time to see David Rose’s ridiculous poncho swishing out the door.

 _He didn’t say goodbye_. Patrick swallowed his disappointed, instantly annoyed with himself. _Why would he? You’re just an employee and he’s…he’s…_

He roughly massaged his eyes with his fingers before looking back at the computer screen, determined to put David Rose out of his mind.

“Patrick?”

Patrick looked up. “David! Uh, hi. I thought you’d left?”

“Well, I would have done but apparently Alexis needed the jet and couldn’t possibly wait so now I’m stuck here until tomorrow.”

He sounded so put out and disgusted that Patrick couldn’t help a small laugh. “How terrible.”

David narrowed his eyes. “So, anyway…where passes for a decent drinking spot around here?”

Patrick thought about it. “Uh…there’s a little place not far from here; The Thorn. That’s where I normally go.”

“Great. What time do you get off work?”

“Excuse me?”

“Well I’m not going to go for a drink by myself.” David said dismissively, as if Patrick was being unbearably stupid.

“Right. Um. Well my shift ends in about half an hour, so…”

“Great. I’ll wait.” David said, still looking at him like he’d done something utterly idiotic.

Patrick had no idea what was going on. He found it quite hard to focus for the next half an hour but he got through it somehow and hurried to the staffroom to get changed. He didn’t properly feel relaxed until they were both sat in a booth at the back of the bar with drinks in front of them David looked faintly disgusted.

“This is what you call good?” he asked. Patrick rolled his eyes.

“’Thank you for coming out with me, Patrick, I appreciate it since I’m stuck here by myself until tomorrow.’”

David blushed and smiled shyly. “Right. Sorry. Being an ass.”

“Kinda.” Patrick watched as David took a sip of his wine and badly suppressed a disgusted wince.

“Delicious.” he choked out. Patrick chuckled.

“Of course. Made with only the finest American grapes.”

“You can tell.”

Patrick cast around for something to talk about. “So how long have you worked for your father?”

David grimaced. “I don’t work for him, I’m just…doing him a favour whilst I’m between jobs. I’ve managed a number of successful art galleries. I do not work for Rose Video.”

“Working for Rose Video. A truly terrible prospect.” Patrick remarked drily. David shook his head, smiling.

“Not what I meant. So how long have _you_ worked for my father?”

“At the store? Uh…coming up to 15 years, now.”

“What the fuck?” David gaped at him. “And you’re not management yet?”

“Not without doing extra training which I absolutely cannot afford.” Patrick sighed. “I was going to go to business school, you know? Spread my wings, good education, find some high paying job…”

“What happened?”

“There was, um, an accident. Dad couldn’t work for a while and my parents needed the money so I put off school and kept working. When he recovered I just…I don’t know. Stayed put anyway.”

“That’s tragic.”

“Oh believe me, I know.” Patrick sighed. “Anyway, let’s talk about something else, shall we?”

* * *

“...and I was fielding calls from about 6 different guys all whilst Alexis was swanning off on some yacht with…Fabien or whatever the hell his name was.”

Patrick snorted. “Your sister sounds…interesting.”

“Yeah, well, be grateful you don’t have to live with her and all her insane boyfriend drama. I shouldn’t have to be single and dealing with all that.”

“You’re not seeing anyone?”

David hesitated. “Not at the moment. What about you? Are you married, or…?”

“Very, very single. Divorced, actually.”

“Oh I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. We’re still friends…sort of. It’s complicated.”

“None of my business, message received.”

“It’s not that, it’s just…we married young and for the wrong reasons. We hurt each other. But we’re working through it.”

“Ok.”

Patrick cleared his throat. “Anyway, it is getting late. We should probably call it a night.”

“Of course. Where’s the nearest hotel?”

Patrick paused. “You don’t have anywhere to stay?”

“This was all a bit last minute.”

“You could stay at my place if you like?” as soon as he’d said it, Patrick regretted it. His stomach twisted uncomfortably and he wasn’t sure whether it was because he was hoping David would reject the invite, or because he was hoping he’d agree to stay.

David looked surprised. “Um…sure. Thank you.”

“Happy to help.”

David smiled.

Patrick’s heart skipped a beat.

_Oh._

_Fuck._


End file.
